Imagine huge brown boulders hanging over your head on one side and a ravine that dropped all the way down 200 feet or so, on the other. Imagine all you have at your disposal is a mere one foot of space to maneuver your vehicle in-between oncoming traffic. Slow, decorated lorries laden with goods, as high as the sky, bound for the Pakistan-China borders and impatient tour buses, honking endlessly behind you could send your heart missing a beat or two.
Driving along the Karakorum to get to Hunza Valley, landslides normally happened at least twice a day during that 350 kilometers drive. Chances are you will find yourself stopped in your tracks by a landslide or two. But local machinery are on-site to clear the landslide which required you to wait for an hour or so. Tiny fragments of rocks raining down on you is a sure indication of an on-coming landside. KKH runs across the Karakorum Range and through the Khunjerab Pass at the Pakistan-China border. In Pakistan it runs from Abbotabad to the border through the provinces of Kyber- Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Balchistan. The KKH is formerly known as China-Pakistan Friendship Highway. It required the work of 24,000 workers to complete it.
But the views along the KKH are to die for. Towering mountains all around, rushing waters in rivers below, hanging bridges connecting the small towns below the highway, locals walking along the highway since walking was the only means of getting to places while some locals used to hitch for free rides from passing vehicles. Then there is the tunnel after tunnel along the way called Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnel……….
(extracted from an upcoming book “From Middle-East to the Far-East to the South”)
11 thoughts on “Driving on Karakorum: Not for the faint-Hearted”
I am certain all the near death moments are worth while experience for you. The intensity of life makes life worth living. Congratulations for celebrating life!
The riskier, the more exciting. Gosh it sounds so careless but I love North Pakistan &-the adventure it affords.
Wow it’s really not for the faint hearted but the view and experience keeps the candle of excitement
The views are to die for, so to speak. Everyone should try to visit North Pakistan
We were travelling together..oh no..I am imagining it..deeply immersed with your story..
Yes Intan, that is the idea…to make you feel as if you re travelling with me…….we drove ourselves, not driven by a guide…..sounds risky kan?
Masha Allah .. amazing sights. Am pondering Tim’s ‘celebrating life’ and the many facade of it 🤗 What could it be in my life puzzle .. what Maverick said also comes to mind .. “don’t think, just do it” .. Bravo dear Sis Husna ⭐️
Yes Intan, that is the idea…to make you feel as if you re travelling with me…….we drove ourselves, not driven by a guide…..sounds risky kan?
Thank you Ungku for the reminder….dont think, just do it. There is a certain amount of careless excitement when driving at 10pm at nite on tge KKH. More interesting stories to come about how at an exhausting 10pm, we could not get accomodation in Patan.
Mesmerising beauty!! Heartiest Congratulations for the successful once-in-a- lifetime life adrenalin-filled adventure.
Hi Nahila. Definitely an exciting experience. Kept me in my seat all the way through the KKH. My partner & I would be trying Skardu next year.